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Grandma’s Prickly Secret (Trudie Trewin, illus by Nelli Suneli, Larrikin House)
Released August 2021
When the child in this picture book barges in on their grandma in the bathroom attempting to pluck out two prominent chin hairs, they proceed to list all the ways... Read more
Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life (Zarah Butcher-McCunnigle, Giramondo)
Released August 2021
‘I’m shopping local this year and I’m single,’ says the narrator of this novella. ‘I keep thinking “please kill me” and “back to basics.”’ Written in a fragmentary form reminiscent... Read more
Imaginative Possession: Learning to live in the Antipodes (Belinda Probert, Upswell)
Released August 2021
Thirty-five years after migrating to Australia from London, educator and social scientist Belinda Probert is still struggling to feel at home in a country that is so ancient and so... Read more
The Airways (Jennifer Mills, Picador)
Released August 2021
Jennifer Mills’s The Airways unsettles the boundaries between consciousness, self and the physical world, deep-diving into the parallels between the workings of the human body and the cities we navigate.... Read more
Underground: Marsupial outlaws and other rebels of Australia’s war in Vietnam (Mirranda Burton, A&U)
Released August 2021
Mirranda Burton’s graphic novel presents an overview of Australia during the Vietnam War by following three main characters: anti-war activist Jean McLean, Vietnam veteran Bill Cantwell and refugee Mai Ho.... Read more
The Overthinkers (Lisa Portolan & Ben Cheong, Big Sky Publishing)
Released August 2021
Four gen Zs in Sydney grapple with status, socialising and self-acceptance in the The Overthinkers by Lisa Portolan and Ben Cheong. First we are introduced to Leo, a self-deprecating gay... Read more
Devils in Danger (Samantha Wheeler, UQP)
Released August 2021
When strange things start happening around 11-year-old Killarney’s house—missing clothes, screaming in the night—she becomes determined to solve the mystery. Killarney soon discovers that the culprit is a wild Tasmanian... Read more
The Spectacular Suit (Kat Patrick, illus by Hayley Wells, Scribble)
Released August 2021
Parties can be extremely important for children. Especially for Frankie, the protagonist of The Spectacular Suit, who has never asked for a party before. With everyone in her class coming,... Read more
The First Time I Thought I Was Dying (Sarah Walker, UQP)
Released August 2021
This is an essay collection in which the most difficult and abject parts of being a human in a body are examined with full and unflinching frankness, from our unacknowledged... Read more
Sugar Town Queens (Malla Nunn, A&U)
Released August 2021
Sugar Town Queens is a young adult coming-of-age novel by Malla Nunn, author of When the Ground is Hard. Her latest book follows 15-year-old Amandla, who is mixed-raced and growing... Read more
Small Joys of Real Life (Allee Richards, Hachette)
Released August 2021
Small Joys of Real Life begins at a house party in Northcote, Melbourne, where the narrator, actress Eva McMillan, meets a cute guy, Pat. Two weeks later, they meet again... Read more
Muddy People (Sara El Sayed, Black Inc.)
Released August 2021
With elegant lyricism, compelling urgency and a dark sense of humour, Muddy People by Sara El Sayed is an impressive debut memoir from the young Egyptian–Australian writer. El Sayed’s work... Read more
Albert Namatjira (Vincent Namatjira, Magabala)
Released August 2021
In his picture book biography Albert Namatjira, Vincent Namatjira paints a stoic and quietly devastating portrait of his great-grandfather Albert, one of the most iconic figures in Australian painting. An... Read more
Girls in Boys’ Cars (Felicity Castagna, Pan)
Released August 2021
Felicity Castagna’s Girls in Boys’ Cars is not dissimilar to her Prime Minister’s Literary Award–winning young adult novel The Incredible Here and Now, which centres on a 15-year-old coming of... Read more
Empires (Nick Earls, Vintage)
Released August 2021
With his latest novel, Nick Earls again proves his talent for compelling and convincing storytelling. A novel in five parts, Empires tracks backwards through history from 2018 to 1809 before... Read more
The Night Village (Zoe Deleuil, Fremantle Press)
Released August 2021
A year ago, Paul and Simone met at a party—young, carefree and living separate lives. Now, they’re parents to a tiny new baby and nothing between them is the same.... Read more
Daughter of the River Country (Dianne O’Brien with Sue Williams, Echo)
Released July 2021
This book isn’t always an easy one to read, but it is certainly worthwhile. Dianne O’Brien’s memoir takes us through death, abuse, imprisonment and trauma of many different kinds. As... Read more
The 22 Murders of Madison May (Max Barry, Hachette)
Released July 2021
The idea of parallel universes might once have been exotic, but between public interest in physics, the increasing popularity of science fiction books and movies, and the rise of the... Read more
All Dogs Bark (Catherine Meatheringham & Deb Hudson, Windy Hollow Books)
Released July 2021
A picture book that is particularly appealing for canine lovers, All Dogs Bark is a joyous and raucous look at the dogs of the world. Its simple language makes it... Read more
The Mother Wound (Amani Haydar, Macmillan)
Released July 2021
Like her own mother before her, Amani Haydar lost her mother young. In 2006 Haydar’s grandmother was killed in the 2006 Israeli–Lebanese conflict. In 2015 Haydar’s mother was murdered by... Read more
